Great Bernera
- Not to be confused with Berneray, the island connected to North Uist along the Western Isles bus / ferry route.
Great Bernera (Gaelic Beàrnaraigh Mòr) is an island in the Outer Hebrides or Western Isles of Scotland. It lies just off the northwest coast of Lewis and is connected by a bridge. The only village is Breaclete or Breacleit; the road signs are primarily in Gaelic. In 2011 the population was 252.
Get in[edit]
Great Bernera is about 23 miles west of Stornoway. See Lewis for connections from the rest of Scotland.
By car from Stornoway take A859, turn right onto A858 (direction Achmore) until Garynahine (Gearraidh na h-Aibhne) then left onto B8011. Follow this to the junction with B8059 - turn right and it leads to the island.
Bus W3 runs from Stornoway to Great Bernera, via Lochganvich and Garynahine then across the bridge to Barraglom, Breaclete and Croir. There are 6-7 M-Sa, taking 2 hours 30 min, fare £3.70. You may have to start out on the W2 west coast circle bus and change at Garynahine. Bus W4 also runs towards Valtos and Mangersta along B8011 passing the B8059 turn off, but from there it's a five-mile hike to reach Great Bernera.
Get around[edit]
The island is about five miles long by two miles wide. You can do it all on foot but will appreciate having your own wheels. The roads are single track with passing places, standard courtesies apply.
See[edit]
- 1 Callanish VIII (Cleitir) (Tursachan - Gaelic for "Standing Stone") (use parking lot at end of bridge). 24 hours. The name is because it's the 8th site associated with the Callanish standing stone complex. It's four stones in a semi-circle on a cliff edge overlooking the sea channel. This is believed to be the original layout, it's not that a complete circle was eroded. The Callanish complex was erected circa 2900-2600 BC, and remained in use for 1500 years. Free.
- Bernera Bridge was built in 1953, taking B8059 across the sea channel of Loch Roag. By 2020 it was creaky and a weight limit was imposed, so delivery and refuse trucks couldn't reach the island. A new bridge alongside opened in 2021 and the old one has been retained as a footpath.
- 2 Dun Bharabhat is the best preserved of the four brochs so far identified on Bernera — it's on an islet in a loch, so its masonry wasn't pilfered. These fortified dwelling places were built from about 100 BC to 500 AD. Follow the grassy footpath west from the road. When the loch water level is low, it's possible to scramble across a causeway to the islet, but you see enough from the shore.
- 3 Bernera Museum, Breaclete HS2 9LZ, ☏ +44 1851 612331. May-Sep: M-F noon-4PM. Local history, from the Iron Age village, lobster pots and land riots to the building of the bridge. Adult £2.
- 4 Norse Mill. Loch Breacleit drains out through two smaller freshwater lochs, and water-powered mills have long been set in the stream where it reaches the sea here at Loch Riosaigh. Traditional Norse mills set the wheel horizontally in the flow. This example was rebuilt in the 1880s, functioned until after the First World War then fell into disuse, but was again restored in 1995 and 2018. It's a two-storey beehive stone building covered in turf. The remains of much older dams and millstones can also be seen. The site's other advantage was that farmers could bring their grain by boat to the mill. Park at the museum and follow the lane east onto a footpath, which may be boggy.
- 5 Loch Risay lobster pond is a dam set in a sea loch, built in the 1870s. Lobsters were kept here and at similar sites (such as Valasay) until market and transport conditions were right to send them live to London. The going to the pond is rough with no marked trail.
- 6 Bernera Riot Cairn stands along the road to Bostadh at the junction of the lane to Tobson. 19th-century crofters had scant legal rights and landowners could evict them at will, and did so because game-shooting and large-scale sheep farming were more profitable than the meagre croft rentals. Sir James Matheson had made his fortune in Chinese opium and founded Jardine Matheson of Hong Kong. He began "Clearances" in the 1850s on Lewis; a second phase on Bernera in 1872 sought to evict 58 families, but near Tobson the bailiffs were pelted with clods. Three crofters were arrested, so hundreds of islanders marched on Matheson at Lews Castle. (The riot when they refused police orders to disperse.) The three were acquitted at trial, and this was the first victory in a 50-year struggle for crofters' rights.
- 7 Bostadh Iron Age House, Bosta HS2 9LZ. May & Sep: M-F, Jun-Aug: M-Sa noon-4PM. In 1992 a storm eroded the coastline and exposed five buildings, with traces of a larger village here from approx 500 BC to 800 AD (Late Iron Age or Pictish Age). Only limited stabilisation and preservation were possible so one house was removed piece by piece and rebuilt on firmer ground, while the rest was reburied. You wriggle in by the passage into the main circular room, which surrounds a stone hearth with a peat fire. There are recesses for beds and storage. The layout and circumstances of discovery resemble Skara Brae in Orkney, but that structure is twice as old. Adult £4, child £1, cash only.
- Time & Tide Bell is an art work on rocks off Bosta beach: the high tide rings the bell clapper. Installed in 2010, it's part of a series by Marcus Vergette, to draw attention to rising sea levels. By 2023 nine bells have been installed around Britain and four more are planned.
- Little Bernera is the island just north of Bosta. It's long been uninhabited but was traditionally the local burial ground.
- 8 Bearasaigh or Berisay is an islet in Loch Roag, which at the turn of the 16th to 17th century was the abode of the pirate Neil Macleod. The English pirate Peter Love went into partnership with him, but in 1610 Macleod seized his ship and loot and handed over Love and his men to the authorities, to be hanged at Leith. However in 1613 Macleod was forced out of Berisay, to be himself betrayed, handed over and hanged. The remains of the pirate village are visible on the island. Rock climbers attempt its sea cliffs.
Do[edit]
- Bostadh is the best beach, see above.
- Walk all or part of the route from Valasay through Tobson to Bostadh Beach, 3 miles.
- Islands of Adventures, The Anchorage, Kirkibost HS2 9LX, ☏ +44 1851 612309, info@islands-of-adventure.co.uk. Daily. Boat trips from two to six hours. Two-hour trip £30.
Buy[edit]
Breaclete has the island's only shop, post office and filling station all in one, open M-Sa 9AM-6PM and Su 12:30-5PM. The community hall has a cafe, a small museum and a medical practice.
Eat[edit]
Bernera Community Cafe is in the Community Centre along with the museum and keeps the same hours. Has internet access.
Drink[edit]
Bring your own, there isn't a pub.
Sleep[edit]
- As of 2023 there are no B&Bs or hotels. Self-catering cottages usually let by the week Saturday-Saturday, but may let shorter stays in winter.
- Lochan View Cottage at Breaclete (100 yards south of museum), £650 / week.
- 1 Atlantic View Cottage at Hacklete, £865 / week.
- 2 Valasay Cottage and Croft House at Valasay bridge, £850 / week.
- 3 Loch View at Croir, £1150 / week.
Connect[edit]
As of Sep 2023, there is no mobile phone signal on the island. B8011 from Stornoway and Callanish has 4G from EE, but the signal gives out once you turn up B8059 towards the bridge. 5G has not yet reached Lewis and Harris.
Stay safe[edit]
- The nearest hospital is in Stornoway (Western Isles Hospital, MacAulay Road, Phone: +44 1851 704704). There is a medical practice in Breaclete.
Go next[edit]
Back to Lewis is your only option.